


The Trouble With Little Brothers

by flootzavut



Series: Rosefern [15]
Category: NCIS, NCIS: Pearl Harbor - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Blanket Permission, Crossover, F/M, Family, Friendship, Kate Lives, Kibbs, Other, Rosefern
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 17:09:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29920131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flootzavut/pseuds/flootzavut
Summary: Will is a pain in the ass. Kate reluctantly appreciates that.
Relationships: Caitlin Todd & Will Thomas, Jethro Gibbs/Caitlin Todd
Series: Rosefern [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/66585
Comments: 6
Kudos: 7





	The Trouble With Little Brothers

**Author's Note:**

> Eventually I'll finish the story with the actual postcards, for now just trust that they exist 🤪😂

* * *

**_The Trouble With Little Brothers_ **

* * *

"So, Katie." Will gestured with his spoon as if it were a conductor's baton or possibly a magic wand, pointing it at her and pinning her with a look. Kate felt it was a look that would be way more effective on someone who reminded her less of a labradoodle.

It hadn't taken long for their friendship to spill out of the office, and not much longer than that for certain routines to be comfortably established. One of those routines was ice cream and a DVD on Friday nights in Will's cramped but cosily comfortable apartment in Salt Lake.

She gave him a half-hearted glare for the 'Katie'. "So what, Will?"

"So when are you going to tell me what's going on with you and your...-" He paused, rolled his eyes theatrically "-friend?"

"My friend?" She glanced away involuntarily for a moment, even though she knew it would make her look just as self-conscious as she suddenly felt, and tried to ignore the warmth inexorably climbing into her cheeks and betraying her attempt at acting nonchalant.

"Yes, your 'friend.'" He actually made air quotes round the word this time, letting his tone show exactly what he thought of her pretence not to know who he was talking about, not to mention her insistence that it was all entirely innocent friendship. "He of the whistle stop visit to Oahu and the postcards you think I haven't noticed you keep on your fridge."

(Will using air quotes was always absurd. If she weren't trying so hard to appear casual that it was taking up all her attention, she'd tease him for it.)

"I get lots of postcards."

Will nodded slowly. "True, true. But the ones at your eye level every time you go to grab a glass of juice are all from Gibbs."

She smiled reflexively, couldn't help it. "He has good taste in postcards. And you shouldn't be checking who they're from."

He grinned. "Who said I did? I assumed, and you just confirmed it."

 _Rats_. He was as bad as Tony for squirrelling out information she hadn't intended to divulge. "Oh."

He looked exceptionally pleased with himself, the little toe-rag. "So, now we've confirmed you are indeed getting postcards from him, and that they're the ones you keep in pride of place, are you going to actually tell me what's going on?"

"There's nothing going on." She shook her head. "He's- he's my friend, and he's-" Her face grew hot. "I'm not- we aren't-"

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks. And don't think I haven't noticed Gibbs is the only subject that ever makes you blush."

She blinked, genuinely surprised. "Really?"

"Mmhm."

Was that true? It probably was, she realised. For all his goofiness, his propensity for silliness, his general air of innocent puppy dog, Will was both intelligent and observant. If he said it, it was probably true.

"Oh." Maybe she should also be concerned about apparently picking up Gibbs' monosyllabic habits. "I, um..." She shook her head again.

On the one hand, there was nothing to tell. Gibbs was her former boss, he was, slowly and cautiously, becoming a real friend, but she could honestly say nothing had happened. A couple of hugs, sure. Unintentionally falling asleep on him. And one ever so gentle kiss on her cheek, the memory of which still sent her fingers up to touch her cheekbone as if it had only just happened. But none of that actually meant anything, did it?

And on the other hand, there was the way he'd looked at her, the way he'd made her feel. The warmth and tenderness of the smile he'd shot her way so many times that day. The way he'd held her when she'd cried.

The postcards - Gibbs of all people buying picture postcards and stamps, going to the mailbox just for her. The short, scrawled notes, terse by other people's standards, sure, but more than she had ever expected from him, and so very _Gibbs_.

And there were other things, things that were even harder to ignore. Not just things he'd done, but her own reactions. The way her insides turned a happy somersault every time she saw his familiar handwriting. The way remembering that kiss, innocent as it had been, made something inside her ache a little. The way she'd felt like her world was about to come apart when she thought he might have been hurt in the bombing.

How much she really, honestly missed him.

"Kate?"

She blinked and looked up, realising with a touch of shock that she'd half forgotten Will was even there. "Yes?"

He smiled at her like he'd won a prize. "You are smitten."

"I'm not!" She wasn't, was she?

"Oh, but you are, Kate." He leaned over and tapped her on the nose with his index finger. "So smitten. It's rather sweet."

She resisted the urge to grab and break his finger. Overreacting wouldn't help her case, and she did love the idiot, even if he also irritated her something chronic.

"I am not... smitten."

"Vehement denial works better if you sound like you mean it."

She rolled her eyes and growled. Another thing she'd learned from Gibbs all those years ago; annoyingly, it never seemed to work so well when she did it, at least not on Will. She'd always been able to send McGee scurrying back to safety behind his computer monitor, and DiNozzo had rapidly learned to duck out of sight when she was in a mood. Even on the rare occasions she'd tried it out on Gibbs himself, she'd managed to prompt the double-eyebrow-raise which was the Gibbs version of shock.

Will, though, he just sat there and grinned happily, apparently not remotely concerned by the evil eye she was shooting his way. "Smitten, smitten, smitten." She glared, but he just leaned back against the arm of the couch and smiled even wider. "Katie Todd the smitten kitten."

Kate debated the merits of actually punching him, but she had a feeling it would also count as overreaction and a point against her in the 'I am not smitten' debate. "Don't call me Katie."

He chuckled. "Does that mean I am allowed to call you Smitten Kitten?"

She groaned. "My God, you are _insufferable_." She let her head drop into her hands, then smiled despite herself when he reached over and ruffled her hair. "You're a pain in the ass, you know that?"

"Yup." He shifted over to sit beside her and slung an arm around her shoulders. "You know I'm going to find out sooner or later. Tell Uncle Will everything, and we'll see if he can help."

Reluctantly, she leaned into him. "Weirdo."

"I've been called worse."

She giggled. "And deserved every one."

"Probably."

She peered up at him. "Can we watch the movie now?"

He studied her face for a moment. "I will concede under protest. And only because I have to give the DVD back to Hana before she throttles me."

As he busied himself setting up, Kate poked idly at her ice cream, picking out chunks of chocolate and sucking them so they melted slowly all over her tongue, and pondered Will's persistence where Gibbs was concerned. Yes, so she had a tiny little crush, like she'd always had. (Well. Maybe not so little or so tiny, but it was still just a crush, right?) And Gibbs, well... so okay, maybe he had been exceptionally sweet to visit her. And maybe he had surprised her with his attempts to keep in touch. And maybe 'sweet' was not an adjective she would've expected to apply to him.

But... but she had returned from 'presumed dead', then moved a continent and change away. Which would be enough to make most people react in unexpected ways, to prompt uncharacteristically sweet behaviour, right? Given the circumstances, reading too much into it seemed... foolish.

_So why are you still thinking about it, Kate?_

She shook her head, and stabbed her spoon into her ice cream with unnecessary violence. She was reasonably sure Gibbs wasn't actively trying to leave her confused and befuddled and downright wistful, but whatever his intentions, the effect was the same. And if she were honest, although she could happily punch Will in the jaw for pointing it out, part of her found it somewhat reassuring to realise it wasn't all just in her imagination that Gibbs had been... significantly kinder than an ex-boss from the best part of a decade ago was usually expected to be.

When Will sat down again, he nudged her shoulder with his. "Seriously though, Kate, I- if you want to talk about it." He grinned wryly. "I'm quite the expert at long distance relationships, you know."

"We're not in a-"

"Yes, yes, not in a relationship, just a friend, used to be your boss, has good taste in postcards, and came all the way here to visit because he wanted to work on his tan. Nevertheless." She aimed another glare at him, which just prompted an expansive gesture, both hands spread wide, and a recurrence of the grin. "All I'm saying is, if you wanted to talk anytime about your not really a boyfriend, or at least not yet boyfriend, your friend who is a guy and who flew halfway across the Pacific to spend time with you, and with whom you're clearly smitten..."

"Troublemaker." She couldn't help the reluctant smile, nor her affectionate tone. She'd always wanted a little brother, preferably in exchange for one or more of her older brothers. She'd just never realised how much of a pain in the backside it would be to have one.

"Well, what're partners for if not to provide trouble and a listening ear?"

"They're for buying me ice cream and letting me curl up on their couch."

He grinned. "It seems as if I have all my bases covered then, doesn't it?"

Kate groaned. "Incorrigible." She gave him a slap upside the head. "Please can we watch the movie now?"

He nudged her shoulder again. "As long as you promise you'll remember I'm here if you decide you do need to talk about it. Whatever 'it' is."

She sighed. Part of her still wanted to kick his ass, but she knew it came from a place of genuine love and concern. And admittedly, she had plenty of confused feelings regarding Gibbs, and she probably should talk about them to someone besides her shrink at some point. And Will cared.

She pursed her lips at him, shook her head, but she couldn't entirely tamp down the smile. "Okay. Okay, I promise."

He grinned. "Attagirl." He let go of her to reach for his own ice cream and the remote control, then settled back into the couch. Kate let herself lean into his side and rest her head on his shoulder, and smiled when he dropped a kiss on her hair. He was a pain, but he cared, a lot, and maybe having an irritating little brother wasn't so bad after all.

_~ fin ~_


End file.
